of doves
by stolashoots
Summary: (Hato is only a dove. He can't do anything, so he'll wait for someone who can.)


**Explanation:**  
 **Panda Hero au (created by me and bus) is where when everything tuns to shit, Kaito grabs a bat and decides to take the war into his own hands and beat down Fusion before they can even pull out their deck. This is in Hato's pov after he leaves Fusion to join Kaito.**

Out of everything he's experienced since fleeing Academia, the waiting is the worse. He's been trained to crush his opponents, kill them if they have nothing useful to provide, and blood is meaningless to someone who's already spilled so many drops. He can take the sleepless nights, cowering in the corner with just his blanket to provide warmth, and he can deal with skipping meals or eating out of a can. Very little of this he would consider worse than the conditions at Academia; it's not as though he was ever safer there than he is here, hiding in a decrepit building.

(Perhaps now, when Fusion finally comes for him with the intent to punish him for his disloyalty, they'll strike him down with honest hatred instead of the warm smiles and promises that they're only doing this to protect him like he's used to. Perhaps he'll die with dignity for standing up against his abusers instead of being suffocated in his sleep by the people who claim to be his family.)

But no, it's the waiting that's the worst. When Kaito brings him to the abandoned shelter, he is given strict instructions not to leave. The outside world is dangerous, after all, and Kaito doesn't have the time to babysit an ex-soldier like him. Even with Kaito there, he'd still be at risk because one side of the war wants him dead for defecting and the other wants him dead for what he's done. And now, after Kaito smashed his duel disk, he's no different than a lost little lamb, completely defenseless and reliant on a stranger he just met for survival.

(A better comparison would be a dove surrounded by birds of prey, he later thinks bitterly as he flips through his deck to pass the time. He was never meant for war, never meant to be a soldier. His name is a symbol of peace, so why is the world crumbling beneath his feet? A true dove would simply fly to safety, but he's chained down.)

At first, it isn't horrible. Kaito promises to check up on him every morning, and he stays true to his word, and even brings precious supplies with him. But then Kaito leaves again after assuring he's still alive and hasn't run back to Fusion, and he's left all alone by himself. In those days, waiting only means until Kaito returns with more food and water. Back then, he didn't jump at his own shadow or prepare for a fight at every unexpected noise. He hasn't realized it yet, but word if his treachery had spread from the soldiers who saw him beg for Kaito to save him up the chain of command. They would be looking for him, of course, no one gets away from Academia and survives. But, at this time, he doesn't know any of this and believes himself to be safe now, hiding somewhere no one would ever look. As long as he isn't actively rebelling, no one would find him.

(He forgot about Yuri.)

When Yuri finds him, all of the fear returns to him in a flood. They're out looking for you, Yuri says, you're lucky I'm the one that got to you first. His real luck comes from the fact Yuri fully expects him to submit and wait like a good little puppy for Yuri to find a better place to hide him, somewhere where neither Fusion, the rebels, nor Kaito could find him and take him away, somewhere he'd be left at Yuri's mercy.

(He knows that if he continues down this path, he'll forever be trapped waiting for Yuri to tire of his new plaything and put him out of his misery.)

This is the first time he's ever broke one of Kaito's rules. Kaito is enraged to find him wandering on the streets, and even angrier to discover a Fusion soldier had used Kaito to find him. It turns out that Kaito has more to hide than just an ex Fusion soldier; he's been picking up strays for more than a year now and keeping them at his house.

(It hurts to learn that Kaito had kept such a big secret from him, but at the same time, he isn't surprised. After all, who would trust a monster with something so important?)

He moves again, this time with the other children and Kaito, though whether because he's gained Kaito's trust or because Kaito has nowhere else to put him, he never finds out. Something else changes then. Kaito decides it's time to teach him how to fight properly, with weapons instead of cards. He has always admired the way Kaito's steel bat glitters ruthlessly in the dim light, the way the letters painted on the side in large blue letters is sometimes speckled with crimson. Kaito hands him a shovel and tells him to smack anyone who intrudes on the property with the metal end.

(The first time he goes out scavenging with Kaito, they are attacked by Fusion soldiers. Before the soldiers could initiate a duel, Kaito swings his bat and down they drop, one by one. It's certainly more gruesome than carding someone, but even still, he can't help but laugh and smile like he's been taught by his Fusion teachers. Even after all this time, he's still little more than a soldier thirsty for the blood of his adversaries.)

And then comes the waiting. Waiting for the next Fusion wave to attack, waiting for Kaito to return home from scavenging, waiting for the infected cut on Haruto's leg to heal, waiting for spring to come again, waiting for the storm to pass. Every night before they go out into what is left of the world, he and Kaito tell the children stories of fairytales and happier days, and hope and dream and pray the war will be over soon.

(Even if it means taking on an army with just his shovel and Kaito by his side.)

But instead, it doesn't end. It never ends. After all, XYZ is only the beginning of Fusion's conquest. He always knew that wiping out one civilization wouldn't be enough. Only, he'd imagined someone fighting back, rising from the ashes to beat Fusion back down to its proper place.

So he's waiting, waiting for a phoenix to rise and save everyone.

(Hato is only a dove. He can't do anything, so he'll wait for someone who can.)

 **Ayy thanks for reading! If you've enjoyed, please leave a kudos and a comment, it means a lot to me.**

 **Hato is a character created by bus, thanks for letting me use him!**


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